Backed by high homeownership sentiments, the first quarter of 2022 also presented a positive outlook. More than 80,000 new housing units were launched across the top six cities and with the financial year closing around the corner, many homebuyers concluded the long due deals. But was it all? Let’s dive into the report titled “India Residential Overview” for more insights.
In the past two years, economies around the world have gradually learned to live with COVID-induced challenges and thus markets have transformed. In line with it, consumer trends also went through several loss and gain stories, and the ones who tapped into the changing buyer needs emerging as profitable giants. The realty segment was no different! The sector has witnessed multiple changes involving the shift to digital platforms and the inclusion of data intelligence to garner the interest of more home buyers.
What home buyers looked for in Q1, 2022?
In Q1, 2022, although the demand for larger homes (3BHK and above configurations) remained healthy across the top six cities, demand for smaller units also inched up. The latter accounted for a 42% share of the total online searches; a small 3% rise in Q-o-Q rise as compared to the last quarter of 2021. The smaller configurations gaining prominence, however, can be ascribed to a variety of extraneous factors driving the markets. These include the expected appreciation of property prices in the near future and the property tax waivers announced in Maharashtra for smaller residential units.
Apart from it, with respect to the ticket sizes, the mid-segment continued to dominate the online search trends constituting 45% of the total search share in Q1, 2022. Interestingly, raising the bar higher, the premium segment (properties worth more than Rs 1 Crore) also constituted about one-third of the total demand noted as per Square Yards report titled “India Residential Overview”.
Were developers’ offerings aligned with homebuyers’ expectations?
Witnessing the imperative growing need for spacious residential units, developers also tweaked their offerings during the quarter, particularly in cities where housing demand is largely driven by working millennials. Accordingly, for the first quarter of 2022, Bengaluru and Gurugram- touted as hubs of corporate offices, noted more than 40% of the housing supply for 3BHK configurations. Though, the overall demand for the same dropped slightly.
Independent homes, flavour of the season!
Following apartments, with a significant 27% of the demand share across the top six cities, independent homes emerged as one of the most preferred property types units in Q1, 2022. Independent units, which had largely lost its sheen in the past few years due to shrinking land resources and the growing apartment culture, have once again gained prominence in the homebuyers’ priorities list. However, the demand was amply evident in southern cities, namely Bengaluru and Hyderabad registering 42% and 43% of the total demand share in respective cities for independent homes. This was distantly followed by Pune, where 26% of the total online searches were noted for the same.
Interested to know more about the prominent turn of events in the housing sector? Read the detailed demand and supply analysis for all top six cities in our latest quarterly report titled “India Residential Overview: Jan-Mar, 2022”. Click here to download the report.
